Hallmark

I (Denise) have been on a card making spree. Here are just a few of the cards I've done. I'm teaching a card making class for enrichment at the end of this month so I have been making a ton of cards trying to decide which ones to use for the class.

It has been nice to spend time creating. Before these cards I hadn't been spending much time being creative. I have enjoyed sitting down at my work area and playing with paper and colors. It's also been nice designing cards, creating them and then giving them to people. Giving them is the best part. I'll be glad when the class is over so that I can share the example cards with people.

Also on a creative note...my photography class starts next week. I am so excited. It will be nice to have all these creative outlets to pursue.

Tear Jerker

Denise and Emily spent the early part of Friday night at the movies. All the 5th graders from Em's school just finished reading Bridge to Terabithia so the teachers arranged an outing to see the movie. The theatre was full of way more kids then parents and Denise thought they might never quiet down for the movie (but they did) The movie was great and both Denise and Emily enjoyed it. Denise hadn't read the book since elementary school so she was not prepared for the story line and cried her fair share of tears. Em didn't cry but that might have been different had so many classmates not been there. If you haven't seen the movie yet it's worth the trip.

Denise's Favorite Boys

Of course Derek, Nathan and Luke are my favorite boys but for now we're talking American Idol. Her are my fav boys for this season (in no particular order)...

You have to love that Chris Richardson sang a Jason Mraz song last night and he lists Mraz as one of his favorite singers - Blake Lewis also lists Mraz as a favorite. I really like all 3 of these guys.

We'll see how the girls do tonight. I'm still not sure on who I like for the girls yet. I did think that Lakisha Jones "brought it dawg" last week. She was unbelievable. I am anxious to see how she does tonight.

So there you go...my deep thoughts on my television viewing.

Fighting the Dark Side

The kids had school off the Friday before President's Day and Derek happened to have the day off as well so we headed to Disneyland to enjoy the day at the park. It was kind of crowded so we did a few rides and then hit a bunch of shows that we would normally not take the time out of our day to see. Well, one show in particular was the highlight for Nathan - Jedi Training.

The show starts with the Jedi Masters picking about 15 "students" that seem to have the force with them. Nate was one of the students chosen and from that time forward he got super serious about the training. The first picture shows Nate working on the moves that the Jedi Master is teaching. His concentration was unbelievable (maybe it's all those scholarly attributes he is learning)
The highlight of the show however was when the training was interrupted by none other then Darth Vader. He brought along a few Storm Troopers as well as Darth Maul. The young Jedi trainees were encouraged to head over to the dark side but they all stood firm in their resolve to fight evil not join it (although if truth be told, Denise thought Nate might join Darth Vader) Each "student" was able to fight Vader or Darth Maul one on one and Nate took on DV without the least amount of fear - yeah Nathan!

We were sitting in a bad spot to get pictures of Nate fighting DV but rest assured that is him as a little padawan (is that the correct terminology? - Denise's brother will correct us if it's wrong) Denise also didn't have her new camera (didn't feel like lugging it around the parks) The minute Nate got chosen to participate in the show she was regretting her decision to not bring it.

We saw the show within the first hour of our day so you can only imagine how excited Nate was the rest of the day. He worked on his moves as we walked through the park and even began to teach Luke in the fine art of fighting evil with the force, as well as with a good light saber.

Another Commendable Cub

On Valentines Day Nathan received a Commendable Cub for the scholarly attribute of ponder. His teacher Miss Tomczik really stresses to the kids about the importance being a scholar so they are always working on acquiring scholarly attributes. Nate loves his teacher and wants to please her so he is becoming quite the scholar this year. Something to be said for the power of a good teacher. Congratulations to our little scholar!

Valentine Treats

So we're a little behind on posts, here is our update...

The night before Valentines Day we had an assembly line going so that we could put together the kid's valentines for school.

We assembled 80 valentines! Denise wishes that all the kids classes were 20 to 1 but no such luck, Em and Luke both have 30 kids in their classes so 80 valentines it is.

Each take out box had fortune cookies in it and a few other candies. The sticker on top said "It's my good fortune to have a friend like you. Happy Valentines Day. Love (insert name here). We are pleased with how they came out and the kids had a great time passing them out.

Here you go Derek

I got an amazing Valentines gift from Derek. A brand new camera. I'm so excited and can't wait to take some photography classes. Before Derek left for work today he said he expected to see some photos taken with the new camera up on the blog. Well, here you go Derek - some shots of Megan enjoying a Valentines treat. What do you think?

Routine

So, I had an "aha" moment today.

The dishes never stay clean. Have you noticed that? You get the dishwasher loaded and started and by the time they come out all sparkling clean there is already another pile of dirty dishes waiting in the sink. It has always irritated me...until today.

I hate change, I like routine. I think I have always been that way. I like knowing what I'm supposed to do instead of trying to guess what needs to be done. I like knowing that every day I am going to have to wash dishes numerous times that day - I didn't know I liked it until today. I still don't necessarily love the act of actually washing the dishes but I like that I know that I have to do it.

So, now I am off to put another load of dishes in the dishwasher. Thanks to Emily who surprised me by unloading the dishwasher without being asked. Now my job is a little easier.

Do we have to Dad?

So today is haircut day and both Nathan and Luke hate that day. I'm not really sure why they hate it. They get to sit in front of the tv on a Saturday afternoon and watch cartoons while Derek cuts their hair - whats so bad about that?

Commendable Cub

Luke received a Commendable Cub award at school on Friday for Outstanding Citizenship and Effort. Good Job buddy!

Not much time left to plan a party

So Denise is in planning mode for a Potter Extravaganza. She and Megan have started on plans for a week long celebration starting with the Order of the Phoenix movie and ending a week later with the 7th book. The current plan calls for a kick off party before the movie followed by the midnight show. Movie goodie bags from Honeydukes will be a must. During the week we may have some low key activities for the kids and friends to do since it's summer - no big plans yet. We'll end with a big blow out bash and dinner and then head over to Borders for the traditional wait in line all night for the book party.

Day 8

So Denise got the crazy idea that she should do the 14 days of Valentines as a gift for Derek this year. We are now on Day 8. Derek is concerned that Denise has set him up for Valentines Day failure by spending 14 days showering him with love. No worries Derek...you're the best Valentines gift ever! How is that for sappy romance?!?!

Love that Mater!

Megan had last Friday off of school so she and Denise spent the day at Disneyland and California Adventure while everyone else was off to work and school. It was fun for Denise because she could go on the bigger rides for a change since there were no little kids in tow. Although, if the truth be told she is not liking like bigger rides like she used to. Space Mountain...far too fast!

Disneyland is celebrating their "Year of a Million Dreams" for 2007. One of their "dreams" is choosing random guests in the park and giving them special fast pass lanyards that are good for that one day only. It includes fast passes for all the major rides at both parks and they are good for anytime during that day. Those of you that are familiar with regular fast passes know that you have to return at a certain time of day to use them - the special dream ones are good no matter when. When Megan and Denise got off of Buzz Lightyear they were greeted by a cast member and given the lanyards - yeah! The crazy thing is that the park was so uncrowded that they never had to use the fast passes - they walked on nearly every ride.

Not wanting the fast passes to go to waste, Derek and Denise headed back to the park around 7:30pm for date night and using the passes got on every big ride before 9:30pm. They never waited more then 10 minutes for anything and in some cases got to walk right up through the exit to get on rides.

Back to the afternoon though with Megan. The highlight of the day was Mater. Who doesn't love that rusty old tow truck? He is just as adorable in person as he is on he big screen :)

Just moving along

Just a quick note to say that the Baker's are doing well but nothing much more exciting then that to post. Derek is busy with work doing year end stuff and trying to switch over to his new position as domestic controller (he was the international controller) He is excited about learning a new side to the business.

Denise keeps herself occupied with the family, the house, enrichment planning and other pursuits here and there. She has been trying to find time to read and she is currently reading The Infinite Atonement by Tad Callister. Derek is also reading a book by the same author, The Inevitable Apostasy. Both books are good choices if you are looking for something to read.

The kids are doing well in school. The 3 bigger kids are busy with Stake Musical rehearsals, so is Derek. They are enjoying being a part of the production.

Megan has made a recommitment to herself to work harder in piano. The holidays seemed to mess up her practice schedule and it has been hard to get back on track. Emily made the decision to stop taking piano lessons. Derek and Denise had many talks with her and asked her to make it a matter of prayer. We hate the thought of her not continuing on and losing her great teacher but we all feel at peace with her decision. She just felt too over extended with school, activity days, and the stake musical. Perhaps she'll take it back up when she gets a bit older and can work through her stress better.

The boys are as active as ever - do boys ever slow down? Denise can't believe the boy smell that engulfs the car everyday after school when she picks the kids up. Nate and Luke must work up a serious sweat on the playground -stinky! The girls never smelled that bad.

We are hoping to have some major Luke news soon. Give it a few more days and then hopefully we'll have an announcement - we don't want to jump the gun and ruin a good thing. Oh the suspense....

Some Tahoe Pics

Derek and Denise enjoying the village. Some of our group went skiing and a few of us just hung out. We braved the cold and walked around town enjoying hot chocolate and...

cinnamon rolls

Denise designed a shirt for the concert and found a company www.uberprints.com that did the silk screen. You can't see the shirt very well in this picture but it is a guitar with a tree growing out of the top. Under "rooted in the music" it says mraz/tahoe/1.07. Denise had shirts made for our whole group and they were a hit at the concert. A few people approached us asking where we got the shirts and if they could buy one.

Since we're posting video

Now that we know how to post video to our blog we thought we'd share our favorite comedian - Brian Regan. Our whole family loves him. If you are looking for a video to buy go to his site www.brianregan.com and buy his I Walked on the Moon video. Your whole family will laugh.

The Beauty in Ugly

While we were in Tahoe we went and saw Jason Mraz in concert. Here is a video clip from the night we were there. This is a song he wrote for the show Ugly Betty, which we haven't seen but we love the song.

Been Away

Derek and Denise have been away on vacation and the kids have been at Grammy Bakers so that's the reason for no updated posts. The kids had a lot of fun hanging out with Grammy and Mandi. We're thankful that we have both families so close. It is nice for the kids to be able to spend time with grandparents, aunts , uncles, and cousins.

Derek and Denise had fun on their trip to Tahoe. We'll post pics as soon as we get them downloaded. We went with a few friends & Denise spent some time before the trip making goodie boxes for each of the cars going up. Megan at one point commented that she thought Denise liked putting together all the fun stuff more then the trip itself - there may be some truth to that. Each car had the following goodie box.

Inside the box was this cd complete with travel tunes to make the 8+ hour drive seem not so long. It was full of travel themed type songs.

The box also contained pajamas for everyone. Denise enjoyed working on the pj's but was especially thrilled with how her personalized ribbons turned out that were tied around the pajamas. She now wants to make ribbons for everything - hopefully she escape this phase quickly before she puts ribbons on everything.

Are you kidding me?!?!

Can this really be California? We are freezing! Denise was reading the paper this morning and saw an article titled..."The big chill descends on O.C. as mercury drops to 26 degrees" the article included a picture of a frozen fountain from someones yard. Denise decided to investigate our own fountain and sure enough the little birdies that frequent the fountain now have an ice skating rink. Since the ice looks just like water we have included a rock in the pictures so that you can see that is sits on top of the ice and doesn't sink to the bottom.

Signs of a successful marriage

We have hit a milestone in our marriage. We have now been married so many years that our wedding gifts are heading to small appliance heaven. This little toaster has seen us through our days as a newly married couple to our present situation as parents of four hungry kids that can never eat toast at the same time because the toaster is too small. We'll miss you little Toastmaster but Target here we come!

Happy New Year

Derek hauled beds downstairs so we could have a family slumber party for New Years Eve. It was a nice quiet night at home. Derek and Megan spent the earlier part of the evening at a youth fireside that Megan loved. She was glad that she went - it was a great experience. We spent the rest of the evening lounging around until midnight and then watched the ball drop in Times Square. Here's to a happy 2007!

RIP

We're reluctant to post these pictures because this was a fairly traumatic episode for our family but we'd like to keep this updated about our lives as much as we can. You may notice from some of our Christmas pictures that we have a hamster cage. Megan decided to buy the other kids a hamster for Christmas. She and Denise went out shopping for one and came home with an adorable little hamster. The kids were thrilled on Christmas morning when they saw little Hammy. To make a long and very tragic story short - Hammy died on the 27th. It was in the evening when Denise went to play with her and found her dead. Derek sat the family down and broke the news to the kids and the flood gates were opened. Derek headed to the backyard and dug Hammy a grave while Denise worked on the headstone. We held a brief, heartfelt funeral for little Hammy and buried her under one of our trees in the backyard. The kids cried themselves to sleep and a few of them woke up the next morning and continued to cry. We had to be in San Diego the next day for Denise's brothers wedding so we were glad that tears had been dried just a bit into the trip. Megan had a friend come along to help babysit while Derek and Denise were in the temple. Halfway through the trip a suggestion was made to Megan to quite talking about Harry Potter to her friend (she had been going on and on and on and on). Luke piped up with, "Why don't you tell her about our hamster." Thanks Luke! The tears began yet again. But all was well when we finally made it to the San Diego Temple.
Rest in piece Hammy - we miss you!

Congrats USC

The football teams from USC and Michigan were visiting Disneyland when we were there. Luke wanted to get autographs from the players and Nate wanted to get pictures so we hunted down some players. These guys were super nice and were happy to pose for some pictures and autographs. We're glad that USC won the game - Go Trojans!

A Very Mickey Christmas

Santa delivered Disneyland passes to us for Christmas so we headed off to "the happiest place on earth" the day after Chirstmas. We braved the crowds and had a fun day. The kids also got Disney Dollars in their stockings so Luke used his money to buy an autograph book. Emily already has an autograph book so the two of them had fun running around the park getting autographs from different Disney folks. Nate got a surprise while the kids were getting an autograph from Goofy. Goofy got up to hug the kids and Nate jumped in Goofy's seat. Goofy wasn't going to let Nate get away with it so he planted himself right on top of Nate. More autographs...
Denise loves this picture of Luke because it conveys how he is at Disneyland. He wants to go on the big rides with the big kids but he is still so scared of most rides. This was on the rocket ride at California Adventure. He is trying to smile and act like it is fun for him but his nervousness is showing through.

Merry Christmas!

The traditional Christmas morning picture taken before going downstairs to see what Santa brought.The Christmas morning disaster. It stayed this way for two days because we left for Denise's parents house soon after opening presents and didn't get home until late Christmas night and the day after Christmas we were at Disneyland.
I loved this picture of the mess with our All is Calm All is Bright sign in the background

Where's the glitter when you need it?

Luke had gotten some reindeer food from school to sprinkle on the ground on Christmas Eve but of course Denise put it away so it wouldn't be out cluttering the counter and we couldn't find it on Christmas Eve. Luckily, this is a tradition we have done for a few years and Denise is skilled in the fine art of reindeer cuisine. Oatmeal & cranberries were mixed up (we were out of glitter - which is essential so the reindeer can see the sparkle on the ground and know to come partake of the food) We hoped the reindeer would see the food even though we were out of glitter but just to be sure they would get something to eat we left some apples on the plate for Santa so the reindeer could eat those instead.

Don't ask about Megan's hat in the picture. It is a beautiful disco ball of a hat that she got at a friends Bat Mitzvah and we think she wears it just to make Denise crazy. We should have left the hat out with the reindeer food - there is no way the reindeer could have missed the moonlight reflecting off the hat and maybe they would have eaten it too!

Christmas Eve

The tradition of dressing up for the nativity lives on even though the number of young kids present at Grammy's has dwindled a bit. Next year some adults might need to get in to costume. We love Nate's angelic stance and face in the second picture - tell us you're not grinning looking at it?!?!
As always the kids had fun playing with cousins. Devon and Allie were here with their kids. It is always nice when the kids can play with cousins they don't see very often.